The Lion King
s The Lion King by Irene Mecchi Jonathan Roberts Linda Woolverton Warner Bros The Iron Giant by Tim McCanlies Brad Bird |starring = Tobey Maguire Dwayne Johnson James Earl Jones Harrison Fahn Jonah Bobo Jeremy Irons Jennifer Aniston Shemar Moore Niketa Calame Harry Connick Jr. Candace Kroslak Nathan Lane Ernie Sabella Billy Crystal Eric Close Kelsey Grammer Robert Guillaume Rowan Atkinson Diana Ross Whoopi Goldberg Cheech Marin Jim Cummings |music = Brian Tyler |editing = Stephen A. Rotter |studio = Walt Disney Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures |distributor = Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |release = February 20, 2009 |country = United States |language = English |budget = $100 million''The Hollywood Reporter, 19 February 2009, p.26. |gross = $702 million }}The Lion King & The Iron Giant'' is a 2009 American animated musical science fiction film based on Disney s 1994 film The Lion King and Warner Bros 1999 film The Iron Giant. The film was written and directed by Cody Dickson in his directorial debut, and produced by Allison Abbate. It's original songs were written by John Mayer, Elton John and lyricist Tim Rice, with a score by Brian Tyler. The film features an ensemble voice cast that includes Tobey Maguire, Dwayne Johnson, James Earl Jones, Harrison Fahn, Jonah Bobo, Jeremy Irons, Jennifer Aniston, Shemar Moore, Niketa Calame, Harry Connick Jr., Candace Kroslak, Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella, Billy Crystal, Eric Close, Kelsey Grammer, Robert Guillaume, Rowan Atkinson, Diana Ross, Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin, Flea, and Jim Cummings. The story takes place in the 1990s. The Lion King & The Iron Giant tells the story of Simba (Swahili for lion), a young lion who is to succeed his father, Mufasa, as King of the Pride Lands. He and his human friend, a young boy named Hogarth Hughes, discover and befriend a gigantic metallic robot who fell from outer space. With help from beatnik Hendrix Connors, Simba and Hogarth attempt to prevent the U.S. military and Kent Mansley, a paranoid federal agent, from finding and destroying the Giant. However, after Simba's paternal uncle Scar murders Mufasa, Simba is manipulated into thinking he was responsible and flees into exile. Upon maturation living with two wastrels, Simba is given some valuable perspective from his childhood friend, Nala, and his shaman, Rafiki, before returning to challenge Scar to end his tyranny and take his place in the Circle of Life as the rightful King. Cody started developing the film at age 11 in 2006 during his time in Elementary School. He attempted to stay close to both original films materials. Several cast members from both original films reprised their roles respectively. The film was animated using traditional animation, with computer-generated imagery used to animate the titular character and other effects. The Lion King & The Iron Giant premiered at El Capitan Theater in Los Angeles on February 14, 2009 and was released worldwide on February 20. Despite poor expectations, upon release, the film received widespread critical acclaim from both critics and audiences. Praise was directed at the animation, music, the combinations of both stories, and visuals. The film was a box office success, grossing over $702 million worldwide against its $100 million production budget. Plot In the Pride Lands of Africa, a pride of lions rule over the animal kingdom from Pride Rock. King Mufasa's and Queen Sarabi's newborn son, Simba, is presented to the gathering animals by Rafiki the mandrill, the kingdom's shaman and advisor. Five years later, an object from space crashes in the ocean just off the coast of Nigeria and then enters the forest near the town of Lagos. Mufasa shows Simba the Pride Lands and explains to him the responsibilities of kingship and the "circle of life", which connects all living things. Mufasa's younger brother, Scar, covets the throne and plots to eliminate Mufasa and Simba, so he may become king. He tricks Simba and his best friend Nala (to whom Simba is betrothed) into exploring a forbidden power station. 11-year-old Hogarth Hughes investigates while on his african vacation with his family and finds a giant robot attempting to eat the transmission lines of an electrical substation, while also running into Simba and Nala. They are attacked by three spotted hyenas, Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed, who are in league with Scar. Mufasa is alerted about the incident by his majordomo, the hornbill Zazu, and rescues the cubs. Though upset with Simba, Mufasa forgives him. Hogarth and Simba eventually befriend the Giant, finding it docile and curious. When it eats railroad tracks in the path of an oncoming train, the train collides with it and derails; Hogarth leads the Giant away from the scene, discovering that it can self-repair. While there, Hogarth shows the Giant comic books chronicling the adventures of Superman. The incidents lead a paranoid U.S. government agent named Kent Mansley to Africa. Hogarth and Simba evade Kent and moves the Giant to a junkyard owned by beatnik artist Hendrix Connors, who reluctantly agrees to keep him. Hogarth and Simba enjoy their time with the Giant, but Hograth is forced to explain "death" after witnessing hunters killing an antilope. Mufasa explains to Simba that the great kings of the past watch over them from the night sky, from which he will one day watch over him. Scar sets a trap for his brother and nephew, luring Simba into a gorge and having the hyenas drive a large herd of wildebeest into a stampede that will trample him. Scar himself does not interfere to save Simba, but instead informs Mufasa of Simba's peril, knowing that the king will rush to save his son. Mufasa saves Simba but ends up hanging perilously from the gorge's edge. Scar refuses to help Mufasa, instead sending him falling to his death. He then convinces Simba that the tragedy was Simba's own fault and advises him to leave the kingdom and never return. He orders the hyenas to kill the cub, but Simba escapes. Scar tells the pride that both Mufasa and Simba were killed in the stampede and steps forward as the new king, allowing his three hyena minions and the rest of their large pack to live in the Pride Lands. Informed about the incident, the Giant leaves Africa and falls into a dormant slumber. Simba collapses in a desert and is rescued by Timon and Pumbaa, a meerkat and warthog, who are fellow outcasts. Simba grows up in the jungle with his two new friends, living a carefree life under the motto "hakuna matata" ("no worries" in Swahili). Now a young adult, Simba rescues Timon and Pumbaa from a hungry lioness, who turns out to be Nala. She and Simba reunite and fall in love, and she urges him to return home, telling him that Pride Lands have become a drought-stricken wasteland under Scar's reign. Feeling guilty over his father's death, Simba refuses and storms off. He then encounters Rafiki, who tells him that Mufasa's spirit lives on in Simba. Simba is visited by the ghost of Mufasa in the night sky, who tells him that he must take his rightful place as king. Realizing that he can no longer run from his past, Simba decides to return to the Pride Lands. Meanwhile, the Giant awakens from his year slumber and reunites with Hendrix. That night, Hogarth's younger brother Phil is abducted by Kent when he discovers evidence of the Giant after finding a photo of it next to Hogarth and him and brings a U.S. Army contingent led by General Shannon Rogard to the scrapyard to prove the Giant's existence. However Hendrix tricks them by pretending the Giant is one of his art pieces. Angered by the apparent false alarm, Rogard prepares to leave with his forces after berating Kent for his antics. Phil and Hogarth resume playing with the Giant with Phil playing with a toy gun, but inadvertently activates the Giant's defensive system and Timon, Pumbaa and Hendrix order the Giant away for Phil's safety with Hogarth and Phil giving chase. Hendrix realizes the Giant was only acting in self-defense and catches up to Hogarth and Phil as they follow the Giant. Aided by his friends, Simba sneaks past the hyenas at Pride Rock and confronts Scar, who had just struck Sarabi. Scar taunts Simba over his role in Mufasa's death and backs him to the edge of the rock, where he reveals to him that he murdered Mufasa. Enraged, Simba pins Scar to the ground and forces him to reveal the truth to the rest of the pride. Timon, Pumbaa, Rafiki, Zazu, and the lionesses fend off the hyenas while Scar, attempting to escape, is cornered by Simba at the top of Pride Rock. Scar begs for mercy and attempts to blame the hyenas for his actions; Simba spares his life, but orders him to leave the Pride Lands forever. Scar attacks his nephew, but Simba manages to toss him from the top of the rock, causing him to land in a burning tree. The Giant saves two boys falling from a roof when it arrives, winning over the townspeople. Kent jabbers wildly at Rogard to return to Lagos when he spots the Giant in the town while leaving Lagos; the Army attacks the Giant after he had picked up Hogarth, forcing the two to flee together. They initially evade the military by using the Giant's flight system, but the Giant is then shot down and crashes to the ground. Hogarth is knocked unconscious, but the Giant, thinking Hogarth is dead, transforms into a war machine in a fit of grief and retaliates, forcing its way to Pride Rock. Kent then convinces Rogard to prepare a nuclear missile launch from a submarine, as conventional weapons prove ineffective. Simba and Hogarth, who awakens, calm the Giant while Hendrix clarifies the situation to Rogard. The General is ready to stand down when Kent impulsively orders the missile launch, causing the missile to head towards the Pride Lands where it will kill everyone. Kent attempts to escape, but the Giant stops him and Rogard has him arrested for his actions. In order to save the Pride Lands, the Giant bids farewell to Hogarth and flies off to intercept the missile. As he soars directly into the path of the rocket, the Giant remembers Hogarth's words "You are who you choose to be", smiles contentedly and says "I am The Iron Giant" as he collides with the weapon. The missile explodes in the atmosphere, saving the Pride Lands, its population and the military forces nearby but at the cost of the Giant, leaving Simba, Hogarth and Phil devastated. Afterwards, Simba takes over the kingship as rain begins to fall. He also makes Nala his queen. Later, with Pride Rock restored to its usual state, Rafiki presents Simba and Nala's newborn cub to the assembled animals, continuing the circle of life. Cast *Tobey Maguire as Simba, son of Mufasa and Sarabi, who grows up to become King of the Pride Lands. Rock singer Joseph Williams provided adult Simba's singing voice. ** Jonah Bobo voiced young Simba *Dwayne Johnson as The Iron Giant, a fifty-foot, metal-eating robot. Created for an unknown purpose, the Giant involuntarily reacts defensively if he recognizes anything as a weapon, immediately attempting to destroy it. *James Earl Jones as Mufasa, Simba's father, former King of the Pride Lands as the film begins. Earl Jones had began recording dialogue after he finished filming on Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins. *Harrison Fahn as Hogarth Hughes, an intelligent, energetic and curious 11-year-old boy with an active imagination. Eli Marienthal was supposed to reprise his role *Jeremy Irons as Scar, Mufasa's younger brother and Simba's uncle, who takes the throne. *Jennifer Aniston as Annie Hughes, Hogarth's mother who is the widow of a military pilot. *Shemar Moore as Hendrix Connors, a beatnik artist and junkyard owner. *Niketa Calame as Kelly Scott, a friend of the Hughes. *Harry Connick Jr. as Dean McCoppin. *Candace Kroslak as Nala, Simba's best friend and later his wife and Queen of the Pride Lands. Sally Dworsky provided her singing voice. ** voiced young Nala. *Nathan Lane as Timon, a wise-cracking and loyal meerkat who becomes one of Simba's best friends and adoptive parents. *Ernie Sabella as Pumbaa, a naïve warthog who suffers from flatulence and is Timon's best friend and also becomes one of Simba's best friends and adoptive parents. *Billy Crystal as Frank, a self-absorbed yet somewhat loyal lemur and is Timon and Pumbaa's best friend and also becomes one of Simba's best friends and adoptive parents. *Nicky Jones as Phil Hughes, Hogarth's younger brother. *Eric Close as Kent Mansley, a paranoid federal government agent sent to investigate sightings of the Iron Giant. The logo on his official government car says he is from the "Bureau of Unexplained Phenomena". *Kelsey Grammer General Shannon Rogard, an experienced and levelheaded military leader in Washington, D.C. who strongly dislikes Mansley. *Robert Guillaume as Rafiki, an old baboon (with mandrill markings) who serves as shaman of the Pride Lands and presents newborn cubs of the King and Queen to the animals of the Pride Lands. *Rowan Atkinson as Zazu, a hornbill who serves as the king's majordomo (or "Mufasa's little stooge", as Shenzi calls him). *Diana Ross as Sarabi, Mufasa's mate, Simba's mother, and the leader of the lioness hunting party. *The three spotted hyenas **Whoopi Goldberg as Shenzi, the sassy and short-tempered female leader of the trio. **Cheech Marin as Banzai, an aggressive and hot-headed hyena prone to complaining and acting on impulse. **Flea as Ed, a level head hyena. Unlike his 1994 counterpart, Ed is able to speak properly. **Jim Cummings as Azizi, a dim-witted hyena who does not talk, only communicating through laughter. Production Development Cody Dickson, who was a fan of both the original Lion King and Iron Giant came up with the crossover concept between the two films with his friends in Elementary School in 2006. Writing Animation Music John Mayer was invited to write new songs for the film and accepted. the original Lion King film's lyricist, Tim Rice, was invited to return to work on the music. Themes Some themes was used from the original Lion King and Iron Giant was used in the film Release The Lion King & The Iron Giant had a limited release in North America on February 14, 2009, playing in only two theaters, El Capitan Theater in Los Angeles and London, Leicester Square at Vue, Odeon and Empire featuring live shows with ticket prices up to $30. The wide release followed on February 20, 2009. Disney/Warner Bros. 3D Marketing Warner Bros. requested Disney handle marketing for the film due to their poor marketing work for the original Iron Giant. Disney released a teaser trailer which showed footage from the original Lion King; the zoom-in shot of young Simba; and footage from the original Iron Giant; the opening scene after Earl Studz crashes into the Giant during the storm. The first feature trailer for the film was released in June 2008 attached to the theatrical release of DreamWorks Kung Fu Panda. The trailer was also shown with WALL-E, Mamma Mia, The X Files: I Want to Believe and The Dark Knight. The second trailer was released on August 11, 2008. The third and final trailer debuted on November 21, 2008 and was shown with the theatrical release of Bolt. Upon release, The Lion King & The Iron Giant was accompanied by an extensive marketing campaign which included tie-ins with Burger King, Mattel, Kodak, Nestlé and Payless ShoeSource, and various merchandise, accounting 186 licensed products. Home media The Lion King & The Iron Giant was released on Blu-ray Disc and DVD in North America on June 9, 2009.http://www.mlive.com/movies/index.ssf/2009/02/rah_rah_siss_boom_blah_awful_f.html The BD set included standard DVD and digital copy versions of the film. The film debuted at the top of the rental, DVD, and Blu-ray charts. First week sales of the DVD stood at 1,232,725 copies, generating $24,597,425 in sales revenue. By November 1, 2009, the DVD had sold a total of 2,510,321 copies and made $46,766,383 in revenue. the DVD was released in the UK on October 12, 2009 with more special features and commentary. Reception Box office The Lion King & The Iron Giant opened in 3,151 theaters on February 20, 2009 against Madea Goes to Jail. Dickson previously stated in a November 2008 interview that he and executives at Disney and Warner Bros. excepted that film would preform poorly as the original Iron Giant. However, the film grossed over $54,713,046 on it's debut week, putting it at #1, ahead of Madea Goes to Jail which the latter earned $41 million.https://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?yr=2009&wknd=08&p=.htm On its second weekend, it dropped 61 percent, but remained at #1 grossing another $22,324,341, bringing the 10-day gross to $98,577,529. The film closed from theaters on April 23 after grossing over $150,201,498 in North America. The international release outcome was over $552,267,519. Worldwide, The Lion King & The Iron Giant grossed over $702,469,017. Critical response On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 98% approval rating based on 293 reviews, with an average rating of 8.71/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "An exciting, funny, and poignant adventure, The Lion King & The Iron Giant offers an impeccably crafted story told with wit and arranged with depth, as well as yet another visual Pixar treat." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 88 out of 100 based on 37 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a rare average grade of "A+" on an A+ to F scale. Film critic Roger Ebert gave the film four out of four stars and called it "a wonderful film." The Hollywood Reporter lauded the film as "Winsome, touching and arguably the funniest Pixar effort ever, this gorgeously rendered, high-flying adventure is a tidy 90-minute distillation of all the signature touches that came before it." Although the San Francisco Chronicle noted that the film "contains many boring stretches of mindless freneticism and bland character interaction," it also declared that there are scenes in The Lion King & The Iron Giant of "such beauty, economy and poetic wisdom that they belong in any anthology of great movie moments ... to watch The Lion King & The Iron Giant with any attention is to be moved and astonished by the economy with which specific visuals are invested with emotion throughout film. ... " Variety enthused that "The Lion King & The Iron Giant is an exceptionally refined picture; unlike so many animated films, it's not all about sensory bombardment and volume ... Unsurprisingly, no one puts a foot wrong here. Vocal performances ... exude a warm enthusiasm, and tech specifications could not be better. Michael Giacchino's full-bodied, traditional score is superlative ..." The Globe and Mail stated that The Lion King & The Iron Giant is "" along with an overall positive review on the film, despite it being predictable. Accolades The Lion King & The Iron Giant won three awards at the 82nd Academy Awards, for Best Original Song for "Heartbreak Warfare", Best Original Score and Best Art Direction. It is the second of four animated features to have been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. Beauty and the Beast, Up, and Toy Story 3 were also nominated for Best Picture in their respective years. The Lion King & The Iron Giant also won Best Original Score and Best Animated Feature Film at the 67th Golden Globe Awards. It was nominated for nine Annie Awards in eight categories, winning two awards for "Best Animated Feature" and "Best Directing in a Feature Production". The Lion King & The Iron Giant also received the Golden Tomato from Rotten Tomatoes for highest-rating feature in 2009, and best reviewed animated film, with an approval of 98 percent from film critics, based on 259 reviews. At the 2010 Kids' Choice Awards the film won Favorite Animated Movie. Trivia References Category:2009 films Category:PG-Rated films Category:Walt Disney Pictures Category:Warner Bros. Pictures Category:Movies Category:Animated Films Category:Films Category:Animated movies Category:Animated Crossovers Category:Crossover Movies